The 19-inch invertebrate was found in the gutter of a house in south-west China and was originally mistaken for a snake due to its impressive size.

As he was putting some dates out to dry in his backyard, Li Zhiwei, a worker from the Forestry Bureau of Binchuan County, saw the huge worm out of the corner of his eye.

'It looked like a snake, I looked carefully and found it was actually a huge earthworm,' he told ksla.com.

After spotting it Mr Zhiwei decided to keep the worm and raise it in his backyard.
It has since attracted locals who come to view the creature as they are astounded by its unusual length.
Adult earthworms typically measure anywhere between 10mm long and 1mm wide to 1m long and over 25mm wide depending on the species.
The body size of earthworms are closely related to their environment and is largely dependent on variables such as soil texture, weather and precipitation.
They can grow longer and wider during humid seasons as long as they have sufficient nutrition and manage to avoid predators.
Mr Zhiwei's earthworm has yet to be fully classified, but biologists are hoping to study it and identify how it reached such a length.